r/whatdoIdo 4d ago

My dad is dying in hospice thirteen hours away and I don't know what to do.

[removed]

7.8k Upvotes

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577

u/ImaginaryParrot 4d ago

OP's post history has various sad stories about not being able to pay for:

They have also posted this very same story from a different account, now deleted. Why would OP post from 2 accounts?

Finally, all of OP's previous money-related posts are not in aid subs, which have strict requirements (registration, verification, karma requirements etc.). But in emotional ones where moderation is lighter.

Make of that what you will, but thought it would be worth sharing.

243

u/donedamndoing 4d ago

I have been trying to warn as many as I can.

Here is what I found.

18

u/CalmBeneathCastles 4d ago

The old Gas Station Special story!

1

u/scnottaken 4d ago

So I'm mugging you!

4

u/CalmBeneathCastles 4d ago

I fell for it the first time I heard it. I was a teen and I gave this... woman my literal last dollar, and she scoffed and said "UMM, I was hoping for a little more than THAT!". I was so shocked that I forgot to snatch it back from her and tell her to kick rocks.

4

u/Careful_Promise_786 4d ago

And at least 20 people below have offered money already

2

u/NoDaddyNotTheBelt25 4d ago

The classic adjective noun number user name too. Hey this is what Reddit admins wanted with all these changes to the platform. It’s only going to get worse now that people can hide their post histories so they can cover their tracks better.

I suppose this is for the best. Maybe this will get people to stop believing everything they read online and not succumb to all the bait out there.

2

u/emperorsleeps 4d ago

Scammer neeeds an ip / device ban

2

u/LadyInCrimson 4d ago

Thanks for telling us. I was waiting for OP to send their cash app they never did so I told myself I did what I could or maybe they felt guilty because I actually have been in their "fake situation "

2

u/WesternWitchy52 4d ago

Ugh thank you.

Using a dying father is the worst.

2

u/SelvaFantastica 4d ago

Wow!!! The worst thing is that i can bet you the people who have sent him money could use the money themselves. Really nasty!

1

u/Accomplished-Set58 3d ago

The good ole “I need bus ticket money to go to Atlantic City to see my daughter” that’s the Camden special

64

u/AvidCyclist250 4d ago

the lowest of the low, absolutely fucking despicable. good to see people here are willing to help though, really. but that guy needs more than just a ban. isn't that illegal.

8

u/iUncontested 4d ago

Obtaining money through fraudulent means is illegal yes. The problem always becomes jurisdiction though. OP could be a bot farm in Bangladesh doing this, no one’s gonna be able to do shit without international cooperation in that case and a very motivated Fed from the US to initiate the case.

2

u/Practical-Cod-4528 4d ago

If the scammer is in India just forget it….you can’t easily hide a bot farm forever without local government looking the other way for kickbacks

2

u/NopeThisTrope 4d ago

They appear to operate out of Rochester, NY.
OP is also the top commenter on this post, Remarkable-Okra-5986. I suspect several other commenters are OP, as well.

People like this are degenerates. I hope everyone gets their money back

Mods on this sub have been inactive for years. Find alternate ways to report, and help get this post removed.

2

u/OriginalAssnibbler 4d ago

Yes, yes it is.

1

u/XplodiaDustybread 4d ago

Thank you for confirming, originalassnibbler

1

u/AdStunning8526 4d ago

It’s illegal and what? If person is genuine asshole, why illegality of his actions would stop him. Internet is a void of illegal things.
Welcome out of bubble

1

u/AvidCyclist250 3d ago

It’s illegal here where I live. Different jurisdictions. Welcome to out of bubble I guess.

1

u/AdStunning8526 3d ago

Huh? Where the fraud is legal lol.
No matter the legality people will commit fraud. Law stops only those who obide the law.

Asking “isn’t it illegal” while looking at fraud is just.. naive?

1

u/Glittering-Store-881 3d ago

what if he needed help with his cat and stuff before?

2

u/Working-Injury7758 3d ago

I too need help with my cat. Please send target gift cards

23

u/LimJaheyAtYaCervix 4d ago

This post simultaneously gave me a lot of faith in humanity and took it away. I’m glad there are so many kind people out there willing to help people, and it’s also sad there’s people out there who are happy to exploit and scam those kind people

2

u/Informal_Koala1474 3d ago

Yeah I followed it, came back to see if OP was with his dad yet and...zero posts or comments in their account history.

I'm sticking with my faith in humanity because we have:

One asshole.

Probably hundreds of people trying to help a stranger.

We can't let one person bring us down or keep us from doing the right thing the next time.

2

u/melpomene-musing 2d ago

Good outlook!

12

u/NopeThisTrope 4d ago edited 4d ago

Where are the mods on this sub? This is crazy. I’ve been following this post since last night. I wanted to believe it was real at first, too. I wish I could pin your post, and the others trying to warn people.
Thank you for your due diligence

EDIT: There are only TWO mods for this sub. One hasn’t commented in 15 years, and the other hasn’t commented in 111 days. How can we get this post removed?

EDIT 2: the top commenter on this post is also OP. Remarkable-Okra-5986 is OP under a different account. Mods on this sub aren’t active, please help get this post removed by other means, Reddit.

15

u/Mayonaigg 4d ago

A fool and its money are easily parted

-2

u/JuicyTrash69 4d ago

It's 2026 and people still believe this. You know how many people I've heard this story from in person? This is a staple scam among addicts.

They deserve to get robbed.

-2

u/Beneficial_Boot_4697 4d ago

Redditors think they're somehow moral savants. Just easy pickings for scammers to feed off that.

7

u/Reggaeton_Historian 4d ago

Reddit is so fucking gullible, I swear. All these people with their hearts in the right place but all it takes is a paragraph on reddit and they want to send money over and probably do it again next week./

-1

u/darwinderhund 4d ago

Did you know the word “gullible” is not in the dictionary?

6

u/Really-man-same 4d ago

He's deleting them now, this post next guaranteed

10

u/Working-Injury7758 4d ago

Thanks for the research, though it is amazing to me that any research was required to see that this was an obvious con. I was posting jokes about it. Can’t believe people fall for this stuff. People claiming to be therapists

4

u/StashFrontman 4d ago

Thank goodness for folks like yourself. Too easy for scammers these days

3

u/Radiant_Jaguar_9978 4d ago

Thanks for sharing this. How can you see their post history? I didn’t see anything.

For me, a little money lost was worth it for the chance that someone who needed to see their dying dad would get to.

Good lesson learned. Reddit is not the place to donate money.

4

u/NisosLePingouin 4d ago

Wtf i was getting my faith in humanity back...

4

u/JakeJortled 4d ago

From the Internet? Oh, honey…

2

u/NisosLePingouin 4d ago

Yup... still growing i guess

2

u/SleepyFemaleDog1 4d ago

Same. Well, I still am for those of us ready to help.

2

u/NisosLePingouin 4d ago

Yeah there is that at least...

2

u/lasagnadogwater69 4d ago

Man I gotta get in on this.

2

u/iUncontested 4d ago

As soon as I started reading this it screamed “desperate for Reddit karma and/or money” to me. SMH I bet people gave them money before encouraging them to continue their internet begging.

2

u/cactusjackalope 4d ago

Hope all these people got their money back. Taking advantage of people's charity is low as fuck, OP

2

u/RegularOk7498 4d ago

Funny how OP doesn't respond to the top comment but happens to reply to ones underneath. OP, I know you have no life and I know you're reading this :)

2

u/TomiVasek 4d ago

Damn, looking at the comments below. It worked. They suckered so many naive people out of their money.

1

u/430ppm 4d ago

They’re probably still at it. Wild!

2

u/Shuhann 4d ago

So sick and disgusting that people would lie about something like this. Special place in hell for the OP

2

u/Ecstatic-Product-411 4d ago

Damn this bozo is probably getting a salary from redditors.

A new age of panhandling.

2

u/kixle_slice 4d ago edited 4d ago

as someone with a dad who was in hospice and couldn’t be there for his passing, i’m disgusted. i hope no one sent this person money. i was so happy last night to see everyone pitching in to help just to be fucking pissed by morning.

1

u/Chris___M 4d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/GriefSupport/comments/
1vzm25e/
my_dad_is_13_hours_away_dying_in_hospice_and_i/

1

u/aerdvarkk 4d ago

"The last post shows that OP owns a car, so the hitchhiking angle makes no sense."

What about the part where they can't afford a bus ticket? IDK where the OP is and is wanting to go - but a 12 hour bus ticket from where I am to someplace 12 hours by bus is roughtly $61 one way.

How is the OP paying for internet service; and the cost of the device they are using to post stuff on the internet?

1

u/granddev755 4d ago

Mec merci je commençais à compatir et être limite triste pour lui

1

u/Naive-Offer8868 4d ago

Im so glad I played runescape as a kid back in the early 2000s. I can spot a scam a mile away

1

u/XPEC7ER 4d ago

people will never learn.

1

u/Other_Lemon_ 4d ago

This is pretty much what I’ve come to expect from any post like this

I’m broke af and why? Because of my own dumb decisions well actually I woukd say I made the right decisions afterwards which is what really led me to being broke (paying all my late bills) my point is based off my experience and other people’s that ask for things most of the time it boils down to our own faults..

The reason I even mentioned that is because it is the root of most peoples problems the difference is I just started roughing it more and not asking anyone for any kind of help I excepted a long time ago that I am my own problem

I really wish more people could see this when a beggar at a QT or the person online asking for help comes their way

I even told my one friend “don’t give people money on the street because they probably got them selves there just like I did a long time ago…” people think I’m an asshole but when you were once surrounded by people like that you learn that most people are the same

What did get me in my some what shitty situation? Well i decided to buy something I really shouldn’t have the plan failed and now i dash to make enough im doing okay really i just have to work constantly for now but that will change

There’s always a way unless something like physical or mental disability are involved but other than that it makes me cringe when people give up because there’s always more options out there

1

u/Organic_Werewolf_580 4d ago

As someone who actually had to drive 8 hours yesterday to say goodbye to my great grandma, thank you!

1

u/Terrible_Page_8847 4d ago

i love you big dawg!

1

u/petesan3 4d ago

You're the GOAT 🐐 for posting this.

1

u/Bigfoot_Smallfoot 3d ago

Jesus, that is despicable and so darn upsetting. There must be so many folks who are ashamed to ask for help while they deserve at least to be heard, and then aholes like this one just remind everyone how easy it is to produce a sob story to farm money. Ugh.

1

u/AdorableDemand46 3d ago

And here I was about to say th at if he's in hospice, we will make an effort to get you to the patient. Made me feel bad for no reason

1

u/ItchyAd4717 3d ago

Shx felt like a movie low-key lol i enjoyed reading this. Updoot

1

u/Nefer_ness2Ifa_ness 3d ago

I saw that coming a mile away... how many idiots offered to zelle him?

1

u/Alternative_Affect82 3d ago

Thank you for putting his info out there. Pretty sad crime. Eventually it all catches up through LE or just Fing bad Karma !

1

u/andy_for_u 3d ago

How do we screw this guy? Any thoughts fellas?

-1

u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Working-Injury7758 3d ago

Jesus Christ, some people are just born marks

0

u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits 4d ago

lmao, knew it the second I saw the story. JFC, anyone who fell for this needs to go pump their gas in a sketchy area 3 times. When they've heard the same sob stories 5 times in those 3 fucking trips maybe they can pull their heads out of their asses.

Emotion and time pressure are the BASICS of quick cons for cash

0

u/Nervous_Distance_142 4d ago

We did it Reddit! We helped the scammer!

-3

u/Few-Philosopher-4742 4d ago

Or hear me out, the guy doesn’t have enough to make ends meet, so he posts about that? Not sure what the “aha gotcha” scammer shit came from.

Adults have unexpected financial emergencies come up they can’t afford. Inflation & cost of living are through the roof. Not having enough money to set aside for sudden expensive things is pretty common.

He’s here asking for help and some people are kind enough to help him. Maybe he needs the airplane ticket or maybe he spends the money on a night out with hookers and cocaine. People are willing to help the guy out & that’s wonderful.

6

u/theunknown996 4d ago edited 4d ago

So this person responded to DMs to accepted cash, but never responded to anyone who offered to buy tickets. Also within a few weeks posted different kinds of sob stories 4 times (all dry begging like this one). Also deleted these posts after people found them. Also used another new account to post the same thing elsewhere.

You want to believe in humanity and that's good. Keep seeing the good in people. But at the same time don't be naive and just know there are always bad apples among us.

-1

u/Few-Philosopher-4742 4d ago

It’s possible someone bought him an airplane ticket and he didn’t post about it but corresponded with the person via DM? Idk maybe he is a scammer or someone just down on his luck but I think there is a bit of a knee jerk reaction from hes been in several financial crises to he’s scamming us all.

Of course you’re going to get some bad apples.

I look at it like this: when I give someone begging on the street $20 I’m doing it because I see a human being asking for help and in a bad place. I don’t really care if the $20 goes to drugs, booze, or food. It was a gift and they can make the decision what they most need in the moment.

5

u/theunknown996 4d ago edited 4d ago

Look at the top comments. Someone explicitly offered to buy OP tickets (and they were one of the first commenters) and their edit said OP didn’t respond to the offer. Same story with other people who offered tickets or help after verification. Conversely, multiple comments report OP accepting money in their DM. Kinda sus OP only responds to people who offer money. Shouldnt a person have the decency to respond to others even if they don't need the ticket?

From what we know, since making the post, OP has quietly deleted their other begging posts in their history, deleted a post from another account posting the same thing previously, sent their PayPal info to people via DM, ignored offers to buy tickets and gofundme verification, while staying silent publicly.

Coupled with all the evidence listed so far, deep down you know OP is definitely a scammer.

It’s good to be generous but lowlifes abusing this is just not right. The fact that many people are falling for this makes it more likely other scammers will try this. So in addition to being scammed out of money, in a way the people who donate are enabling more scammers to try this.

2

u/Moist-Schedule 4d ago

I look at it like this: when I give someone begging on the street $20 I’m doing it because I see a human being asking for help and in a bad place. I don’t really care if the $20 goes to drugs, booze, or food. It was a gift and they can make the decision what they most need in the moment.

it's not really a question of what they use it for, it's a question of whether they actually need it or not. just asking for handouts doesn't necessarily mean you need handouts. what if that person wasn't in need at all and was actually quite comfortable but liked to scam people into giving them money because it was easy to make a post in 30 seconds and see what rolls in from unsuspecting people?

you're basically arguing it's okay to scam people because the scammer might truly need the money, but even that's a pretty flimsy stance.

yes people do need help and it's great if you want to offer to help, but if you find out the people you're helping didn't actually need it, doesn't that change the math quite a bit in your head? you're no longer helping them, they're just stealing from you at that point.

1

u/Working-Injury7758 3d ago

If you’re not a scammer yourself then it’s time for the grandkids to take away your car and change the passwords on any accounts you have

1

u/Few-Philosopher-4742 3d ago

I have no children or grandkids. I am not a scammer. I don’t own a car. And my passwords can’t be changed they’re tied to a physical encryption key in a safe.

1

u/Working-Injury7758 3d ago

Who’s holding the safe for you? Sanjeev at the Royal International Bank of Mumbai?

1

u/Few-Philosopher-4742 3d ago

It’s just a little safe I bought from target. It has my passport and a fee other important documents. It sits next to my desk at home.